Moderators have the potential to make or break a debate, often becoming active participants. This was the case in the first presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris when the moderators drew outrage for continually fact-checking the former while failing to do so with the latter.

Debate details

The debate will take place on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time in New York. One major difference between Tuesday’s debate and the last one is the lack of any fact-checking by the moderators.

CBS said it would be up to Vance and Walz to fact-check each other and that “the moderators will facilitate those opportunities” during the time allocated for rebuttals, according to the Associated Press.

However, CBS said its fact-checking unit will put out real-time fact-checks on its blog and social media and during the post-debate analysis.

Norah O’Donnell

O’Donnell has an extensive career in reporting, beginning with NBC in 1999 and becoming a correspondent for CBS in 2011. She became the anchor of CBS Evening News in 2019. Earlier this year, she announced she would be stepping down after the election to become a senior correspondent for the network.

She’s notable for being the first television journalist in America to conduct a sit-down interview with a pope, which aired in May. The interview gained attention for Pope Francis’s insistence that women would never be allowed in the clergy.

O’Donnell drew controversy for asking a question to former Rep. Kevin McCarthy in July that appeared to present Trump as holding some responsibility for the attempt against the GOP presidential candidate’s life.

“Does Donald Trump bear some responsibility for that? Does he need to change his rhetoric?” she asked. 

McCarthy was noticeably taken aback by the question and quickly brushed it aside.

Margaret Brennan

Brennan began her career 22 years ago as a correspondent for CNBC. In February 2018, she was named the 10th host of Face the Nation, a position she has held ever since. She won an Emmy award and another two nominations for her work on the program.

Brennan drew controversy after the first attempted assassination against Trump in July when she critiqued his statement in the immediate aftermath.

“He is recovering from these injuries now. This was a traumatic event, no doubt, for him,” Brennan said. “But I did notice there was no call for lowering the temperature, condemning all political violence, and really trying to signal to his supporters as well not to retaliate or have any kind of escalation here.”

The remarks drew harsh criticism from supporters of Trump and other observers, who considered it to be blaming the former president for the assassination attempt.

Brennan has also drawn criticism for appearing to present Harris more favorably, including the editing of an interview that cut out an unflattering exchange. CBS News later apologized for the editing.

The debate won’t be the first interaction between Brennan and Vance — the journalist and the senator had an interview that got heated earlier in the year before he was named Trump’s running mate.

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“You know, I lost track, sir,” Brennan interjected. “I’ve been told the media is on every single side of this and everything’s our fault, but let’s get back to the candidate you’re here to talk about.” 

The Media Research Center, a right-wing media watchdog, declared that CBS News’s coverage of the 2024 election is “wildly slanted” in favor of Harris and Walz, based on an analysis of 161 stories, many coming from O’Donnell’s CBS Evening News.